By Jeff Howe, Larry Holder and Amos Morale III
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr sustained a “significant” fracture in his left hand in the team’s Week 14 win against the New York Giants and is expected to miss at least several weeks, according to a league source. This might end Carr’s 2024 season with only four games remaining.
With Carr sidelined, the team will turn to either Jake Haener (who replaced Carr on Sunday) or rookie Spencer Rattler (who went 0-3 in three starts while Carr was out in October).
Carr left Sunday’s 14-11 win against the New York Giants in the fourth quarter with a hand injury and to be evaluated for a concussion. Carr remained on the ground and was evaluated by trainers after leaping and landing awkwardly at the end of a 9-yard run with 3:59 left in the game.
Carr’s injury is another in a long list of serious injuries the Saints have dealt with this season. New Orleans already lost Taysom Hill for the rest of the season, along with top receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed on injured reserve.
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Carr, 33, missed three games earlier this season with an oblique injury. The Saints are 5-5 in the 10 games this year that Carr has started at quarterback. He’s thrown for 2,145 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions resulting in a 101.0 passer rating this season.
Carr’s up and down Saints career
The Saints landed the best option they could at quarterback in leading up to the 2023 season when they signed Carr. The acquisition made sense given the landscape in free agency and the team’s NFL Draft position at the time. Carr’s time with the Saints hasn’t been terrible, but it hasn’t been a rousing success either with the QB producing solid numbers, as well as New Orleans going 14-13 with Carr under center. The expectation level for Carr and the team in the past two years weren’t reached with the NFC South being up for grabs the past two years.
Carr has two years left on his four-year deal which can max out at $150 million. With Carr possibly out the rest of the season, New Orleans will get another look at either Haener or Rattler. The Saints would be wise to take a long look at the 2025 NFL Draft class if they’re planning for their future, though. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer
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(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
